Publisher: Chessbase, 2015, DVD
The Berlin Wall, also known as the Berlin Defense, is one of the most solid and frequently played openings of the 21st century, and compared to the real Berlin Wall, there’s almost no chance of it falling. Introduced into serious practice during the WCC match between Kasparov and Kramnik in London in 2000, it heralded a change in chess from the dynamic and romantic style of the 20th century towards a more pragmatic, solid, resourceful and forwardlooking approach. Kramnik won the match and the Berlin Defense became extremely popular. The DVD is divided into two parts. In the first section, we look at what happens when White avoids the endgame in the “Anti-Berlin” systems, while the second section deals with the Berlin ending. Lately, White has been playing Anti-Berlin setups much more frequently – as they cannot find anything in the main Berlin. In a way, this alone is testament to its power!
The endgame should be treated as serious, complex setting with lots of possibilities, including many tactical tricks. It goes without saying that studying the Berlin Defense will improve your understanding of the endgame dramatically. The course also includes a number of exercises aimed at improving your practical skills in the Berlin. The DVD caters for a wide range of audiences that ranges from beginners right through to highly skilled players. Add the Berlin Wall into your repertoire and pass the headache of “what to play against it?” to your opponent!
• Video running time: 4 h 07 min (English)
• With interactive training including video feedback
• Exclusive database with 50 essential games plus analysis by Bologan
• Including CB 12 Reader
Victor Bologan is a pupil of the top Moldovan trainer Vecheslav Chebanenko. For many years Bologan has been the number one in Moldova and has represented his country in ten Chess Olympiads. He has won over 50 international events. His greatest successes were in 2003, when he first won the Aeroflot Open and then the famous Dortmund Tournament, ahead of Kramnik and Anand. Bologan has extensive experience as a trainer and has also published five chess books and 19 ChessBase DVDs.
System requirements: Minimum: Pentium III 1 GHz, 1 GB RAM, Windows Vista, XP (Service Pack 3), DirectX9 graphic card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9 and internet connection for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel Core i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Windows 7 or Windows 8, DirectX10 graphic card (or compatible) with 512 MB RAM or better, 100% DirectX10 compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVD-ROM drive and Internet connection for program activation.
